In suburbs, cities and rural areas, [big-box stores] can present a reuse and rehab conundrum, particularly as retailers become more sophisticated about controlling leases and redevelopment. [...]
With the big-box model, stores are rarely remodeled. [...]
A kind of “retail cannibalism” emerges, where companies compete for market share with ever-shinier facades that leave aging stores behind as the asphalt fades.
— minnpost.com
More on the fading development of big-box stores:A supermall grows in fracking countryFor in that death of malls, what dreams may come? Archinect Sessions #32, featuring special guest co-host, Nam Henderson!Dead Malls and Shopping DinosaursDead-malls and the return of Main Street View full entry
Throughout its history, Kitchener has often imagined big plans for its urban development, but since the 1960s most of these grand plans for downtown Kitchener only ever found form in the Market Square Shopping Centre. Market Square is the most complete and concrete repository of Kitchener’s attempts at re-imagining itself in the postwar period. — Numéro Cinq
Nathan Storring, a writer, artist, designer, and assistant curator of the Urbanspace Gallery in Toronto, writes a thorough critique of the redevelopment, destruction, and rebirth of the downtown core in Kitchener, Ontario. The issues and concerns, raised in his essay in microcosm, can be applied... View full entry
Before becoming senior vice president for The Trust for Public Land in 2012, Adrian Benepe spent 11 years working as New York City Park Commissioner under Mayor Michael Bloomberg, overseeing such projects as the High Line, Hudson River Park, Brooklyn Bridge Park and Central Park's renovation... View full entry
NCARB announced last year that it would work with architecture schools to create a path to licensure upon graduation, and since then, it's approved 14 programs – the latest being at the University of Kansas. These programs are already NAAB-accredited and don't guarantee licensure upon... View full entry
The effect is a curious one, as if a voluptuous society beauty has opened her mouth to smile at you, only to reveal a thin row of rotting teeth. [...]
Depressingly, the numpties and panjandrums who sit on Edinburgh city council have squandered the opportunity to heal the wounds of the past. [...]
What is it with this city, whose custodians, over centuries, seem to be ashamed of having so much natural beauty bestowed upon it and constantly seek ways to diminish it?
— Kevin McKenna via theguardian.com
That’s why a team from the Institute for Digital Archaeology (IDA) is turning to the next best option—using technology to protect cultural heritage.
Founded in 2012 by Roger Michel, IDA is a joint effort between Harvard University and Oxford University to create an open-source database of high-resolution images and three-dimensional graphics of things like paper and papyrus documents, epigraphs and small artifacts.
Work on what IDA has named the Million Image Database began in early 2015.
— newsweek.com
The photo shows the Baal Shamin temple prior to its destruction. Volunteers of the Institute for Digital Archaeology were able to digitally archive the 2,000-year-old structure for the Million Image Database project just in time before ISIS fighters seized control of Palmyra's historic... View full entry
Special guest Susan Surface, former Archinect editor now at Design in Public, joins us on Archinect Sessions to talk about recent developments in the state of gender inclusive design – specifically, in public restrooms.As the binary model of gender begins to slowly dissolve in the popular... View full entry
By now, everyone is aware that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau comes from a solid political lineage and is relatively young, but what are his policies on architecture? During the election, The Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) polled Trudeau's Liberal Party of Canada on its... View full entry
Rather than watching passively as non-local or private developers consume neighborhood public spaces, we can use Placemaking to enable citizens to create their own public spaces, to highlight the unique strengths of their neighborhoods, and to address its specific challenges. While gentrification can divide communities and build upon exclusivity, Placemaking is about inclusion and shared community ownership. It is about increasing “quality of life,” not removing public life. — pps.org
Related on Archinect:"Eco-Gentrification," or the social ramifications of "urban greening"Is NYC losing its "New Yorkiness"?Can an Indianapolis arts collective pull off a fairer form of gentrification? View full entry
“As a World Heritage City, Philadelphia is being officially recognized on the global stage for its wealth of contributions to the world as the epicenter of American democracy and for its enduring commitment to preserving the unique historical and cultural assets in our diverse community." [...]
Global Philadelphia officials said earlier having World Heritage designation was akin to a "Sister Cities program on steroids" that could give a major economic boost for Philadelphia.
— bizjournals.com
More from the perpetually sunny city:New Philadelphians and the end of gentrification guiltHow Many Artists Does It Take to Make an Arts District?Will Philadelphia Ever Be Home to a Middle Class?Philadelphia: Let's Talk About Frank Gehry View full entry
“History is not a simple meritocracy: it is a narrative of the past written and revised - or not written at all - by people with agendas.” - Despina Stratigakos, "Unforgetting Women Architects: From the Pritzker to Wikipedia", Places Journal, June 2013In 2007, in the nascent days of Wikipedia... View full entry
"Nobody really reads books," Niami says, "so I'm just going to fill the shelves with white books, for looks." Stepping past the nightclub's outdoor lounge area where circular banquettes will seem to float next to a two-story waterfall, he says: "I really think that this house is going to do a lot for L.A. Anybody who lives in the area is going to be proud to be near it." — DETAILS
Go ahead and hate! About half of the tennis court had to be built on pilings to account for the land's contours. This niche will have a covered viewing area and a fire pit.The infinity pool for the guesthouse, which, when built, will be 5,000 square feet itself.The motor court and the main... View full entry
Ever since Apple announced the launch of the supersized iPad Pro tablet and its Pencil companion, the anticipation grew which new apps—specifically developed for designers and creatives—could fully make use of the enhanced capacity: a more powerful A9X processor, larger 12.9-inch Retina... View full entry
Continuing our "Next Up" series, recorded at Jai & Jai Gallery in Los Angeles and during the opening weekend of the Chicago Architecture Biennial, we've been posting the live-interviews as podcast Mini-Sessions. Due to a technical error at the Biennial, the second half of live Chicago... View full entry
Smithsonian photographer Carolyn Russo first found herself drawn to air traffic control towers in 2006 on a flight into LaGuardia when she first studied the architectural details and circular windows of that now inactive structure [...]
I viewed each tower as both an essential aviation artifact and a vessel with a powerful presence—watching over the vastness of the airport and sky; a non-judgmental cultural greeter [...] In the presence of the tower, I sensed the complex orchestration of humans
— smithsonianmag.com
↑ Airport Tower at Edinburgh Airport, Scotland. ↑ Airport Tower at Stockholm-Arlanda Airport, Sweden.See more photos from Carolyn Russo's new book The Art of the Airport Tower (Smithsonian Books, 2015) and read an interview with her over at Smithsonian.com.Related on Archinect:Eero... View full entry
